Stephen Colbert, Out of Character, Tells Teen Girls What to Do About Catcalls (Video)

Stephen Colbert broke character to give some very sincere answers to teenage girls seeking an adult man’s advice on dealing with catcalls and harassment, strict dads, mean people and figuring out if someone likes you.

For Rookie Mag’s “Ask a Grown Man” segment, the “Colbert Report” host dropped his conservative pundit facade, looked into the camera and did his best to help. When one girl asked what to do about boys who catcall and make jokes about rape, he told her she had more power than she realized.

Don’t engage strangers, she said. But if it’s someone she knows, he advised:

“They really care what you think. It may not seem like they do, because they’re being so aggressive, but they actually really do care. And I would say, ‘Please don’t do that, because I really don’t like it.’ And they may, you know, blow you off at the time. But I promise you they’ll remember that you said that.”

He also gave suggestions to a 19-year-old who wanted to know how to deal with a dad who didn’t want her staying at her boyfriend’s house.

“You’re legally an adult,” he said. “Why are you still living at home? if you don’t feel like you’re ready to be out on your own, maybe you’re not ready to be out on your own. But you certainly have the right to be, and I’m not telling you to move out. I’m just saying if there’s a reason why you’re still living at home and you feel like you still need your parents help, it might be sort of an act of humility to say, ‘If i need their help financially and in terms of security, maybe it’s not to much to ask to also accept their help in terms of relationship advice.'”